Deny The Truth
by Lollipop456
Summary: Cappie and Casey grow closer when they discover that Cappie is suffering from leukemia. But how much time do they have together? Also, how is Rusty going to deal with the sudden loss of his frat brother? And what about this new girl Leslie?
1. Chapter 1

Cappie and Rusty were laying around in Cappie's dorm, both were bored beyond their minds. Rusty's girlfriend Jen was pulled from campus for two weeks to visit her Aunt and Uncle in Europe, and Cappie...well...let's just say his bed was always empty every morning (but not at night, at least).

"A night on campus, and they close the bar for construction. A night on campus, the brothers are off playing strip poker with some frat girls. A night on-"

Cappie's little rant was cut off when there was a knock at the door, Cappie went to answer it only to see a new girl standing at the doorway.

"Hi. My name is Leslie, I'm kind of new here...Can you help me find my dorm? I would ask someone else but they all seem to be busy with homework and other stuff." Leslie explained

"Gladly." Cappie said, his mouth still a bit agape at the mere sight of Leslie.

"Hey, what am I suppose to do?" Rusty asked

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to see if she has any friends." Cappie said distractively, he and Leslie left the dorm.

Rusty waited for six hours for Cappie to return, just as he was about to give up and go to bed; he heard the most loudest scream erupt from the end of the halll. Leslie came into the room, dragging Cappie along; she laid him on the bed.

"What happened to him?" Rusty asked

"I don't know. We were halfway dressed and he just fainted, almost like he just had a terrible shock or something." Leslie explained

"Cappie? Cappie, can you hear me?" Rusty called out

"What?" Cappie asked wearingly, his eyes creaked open.

"Thank god." Leslie sighed

"What's up, Rusty?" Cappie asked as he sat up in bed

"Well according to Leslie, you passed out in her dorm room. You were out cold, she had to drag you all the way here." Rusty explained

"Hope I wasn't a strain, baby." Cappie joked

"Who cares about strain? I'm just happy you're okay." Leslie cried

"Cap, what happened?" Rusty asked

"Nothing, really. I just got a little dizzy and hit the floor, no big deal." Cappie assured, but Rusty could tell..it WAS a big deal.


	2. The Attack

The next morning, Cappie's fainting spell was forgotten; he got up and got dressed and went to class, although Rusty did keep a close eye on him. Cappie got pretty annoyed at the fact that Rusty was followiing him everywhere.

"Why don't I just buy myself a leash so you can drag me around?" Cappie asked, an annoying tone was showing in his voice

"Sorry, but I think you gave me and Leslie a nice scare yesterday." Rusty said shyly

"I need to go to the bathroom." Cappie stated, Rusty began to follow him.

"I kind of need to do this on my own." Cappie noted

"Sorry." Rusty apologized

Cappie went off to the bathroom while Rusty sat on the bench to wait for him, he suddenly heard an oh-so familiar voice behind him.

"Bonjour beau." A female voice giggled

Rusty turned and saw Jen K, standing with a backpack and a smile on her face. Rusty ran up to her and kissed her, then gave her a short hug.

"What happened to Europe?" Rusty asked

"My aunt and uncle came down with the flu and they didn't want me to get sick so they sent me back to the states." Jen explained

"Do you want to sit down?" Rusty offered

Jen K and Rusty sat down on the bench together, Rusty forgot all about Cappie for a minute. They began to talk about all the sites that Jen saw in Europe, her aunt and uncle, and about how much they missed each other.

"Hey where's Cappie?" Jen asked after awhile

"Cappie..." Rusty said quietly

"It's just that he would be out here, seeing that the cheerleaders are almost done with practice and-" Jen did not have time to finish her sentence, Rusty had already dissapeared

Rusty bolted towards the bathroom, he found Cappie on the floor; concious and in quite alot of pain. Rusty knelt next to him, and managed to turn him onto his back.

"Rusty?" Cappie asked with a slight moan

"Hey pal, it's me. Just lay still and I'll get you help." Rusty said calmly

"What's happening to me?" Cappie asked Rusty

Cappie took Rusty's hand in order to ease his own pain, Rusty smiled uneasily just as another boy entered the bathroom.

"Call 9 1 1." Rusty urged


	3. Cancer

Cappie was rushed to the hospital, Rusty went with him just in case Cappie needed him or his hand, rather. Rusty stayed with Cappie for as long as he could, until the nurses came and told him he had to wait outside until they got him settled and did more tests. Rusty paced the hallway for two hours, he sat down for an hour and then began pacing and then he sat down once more. Out of nowhere, his older sister Casey arrived and gave him a hug.

"How is he? Where is he?" Casey asked

"I don't know and I don't know." Rusty sighed

"What do you mean you don't know? Didn't they say anything..."

"Only that they were going to run some tests." Rusty said softly

"What happened?" Casey asked as they both sat down

"I don't know. He was fine for awhile, and he went to the bathroom...I talked with Jen for awhile and then I found him on the floor in pain and having problems breathing." Rusty explained

"You didn't even bother to check on him for an hour?" Casey snapped

"I thought he was okay, I just forgot." Rusty said innocently

"Dammit, Rusty! You should've checked on him." Casey cried as she walked away

Suddenly, a doctor came out of nowhere and approached the siblings. Rusty could feel his hands quivering as the doctor sat down across from him, Casey joined the couple.

"What is your relationship with Charles?" The doctor asked

"He likes to be called Cappie and I'm his fraternity brother, I'm the one who found him." Rusty explained

"I'm his ex-girlfriend." Casey said with a slight shrug

"Well you both will be happy to know that...Cappie is in better conditon. We did however needed to run a blood test on him, and we found something." The doctor began to explain

"Was is it an infection?" Rusty asked

"No infection, something much worse. We found cancer cells in his blood." The doctor stated

"Cancer?" Casey repeated

"Leukemia to be more percise." The doctor said softly

"He can't have cancer, he's just a teenager. He's not much older than me..." Rusty said softly

"Would one of you like to tell him?" The doctor asked

"We'll tell him." Casey declared

Casey and Rusty got up and went to Cappie's hospital room, he was only hooked up to one or two monitors but he seemed to be doing just fine; at least for right now.

"So, when can I leave?" Cappie asked

"Cappie, I'm sorry." Casey said as she threw her arms around him

"All right." Cappie said reluctantly

"Cap, we got something to tell you." Rusty said simply

"I'm not liking where this is going..."

"Cappie...You have leukemia." Casey said between tears

"Leukemia?" Cappie repeated

"It's a type of bone cancer." Rusty briefly explained

"I have cancer?" Cappie asked, tears were filling his eyes.

"Yes." Casey said softly

"Damn it!" Cappie cried in anguish, he slapped a metal tray off a table.

Casey hugged Cappie, and then for the first time in his life; Cappie began sobbing hysterically, he truly could not believe what he had. Rusty joined in on the hug, he got close to Cappie's ear.

"You won't die, I will NOT let you die." Rusty whispered


	4. The Fate

The day that Cappie was set to leave the hospital, Casey and Rusty found time off from their studies and went to help him back to the university. Rusty brought along his video camera, claiming it was for a surprise project.

"Rusty, can't you turn off the camera for five minutes?" Cappie asked as he closed his suitcase

"It's for my project, I just need some good footage of you. Okay, do you have anything to say to the staff here at the hospital?" Rusty asked

"I got something! To all you hot nurses, I will be back in two weeks for a full body x-ray...Any volunteers." Cappie said in a dark, seductive voice

"Cap, you aren't filming a personal ad. Be serious." Rusty scolded

"All right. You all treated me with respect and don't worry I'll be back soon for many, many appointments." Cappie said sadly

There was a brief silence, Casey and Rusty looked at each other.

"Was that better?" Cappie asked

"Yeah, it was." Rusty said softly

Cappie finished packing and the three cruised back to their university and helped Cappie back to his dorm, although he insisted he didn't need any help. Rusty was able to convince Cappie to sit down, but Cappie was very determined to get outside.

"Guys, as fun as you two are. Football season is in, and cheerleaders are out." Cappie reminded as he tried to stand up, only to be forced back down by Rusty

"Doctor said for you to rest up for the next few days." Casey stated

"I'll rest up...tomorrow. In the mean time, I'd like to see if any girls need help getting into their uniforms." Cappie said simply

"Rest is very important now, Cap." Rusty declared

"Now that I'm gonna die?" Cappie asked, showing a slight anger in his tone

"What were saying is don't do overdue it for a few days." Casey explained

"Is this what my life is gonna be like from now on? You guys hovering over me like vultures, not getting any time for your selves because I'm having an attack, because if it is...I might as well as not be alive." Cappie cried

The room was silent, Cappie sighed and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted." Cappie apologized

"No, it's our fault. We're just being a bit...bitchy over the whole thing." Casey castigated herself as well as her younger brother.

"We just don't want you to keel over." Rusty chimed in

"So what about chemo? I mean do they want me to do it or what?" Cappie asked

"They said it would be in your best interest." Casey stated

"Chemo? Chemo would be in MY best interest, all it does is make you sicker than you actually are! No way, I'm not doing it." Cappie said persistently

"Without it you could die." Rusty cried

"With it I WILL die." Cappie snapped

"Okay boys, just stop it for now. Cappie all you need right now is sleep, me and Rusty will stay if you want." Casey explained

"I just want to talk with Rusty for a minute." Cappie said with a small smile

Casey kissed Cappie's cheek and left the room, Rusty sat on the bed and was ready to listen to Cappie.

"Can you keep a secret? Brother to brother?" Cappie asked

"Of course." Rusty said with a sligt chuckle

"All right...I know I'm gonna die. Because all of my family, at least from my dad's side had leukemia and they died." Cappie explained

"Cappie, each case is different. Any doctor can tell you that." Rusty said calmly

"Yeah but if I die...what happens to Kappa Tau?" Cappie asked nervously after a brief beat

"...I don't know." Rusty said softly


	5. Symptoms

Cappie stayed in bed for a few days, he didn't understand what the big deal was about, I mean he wasn't feeling any symptoms of leukemia. He was a little tired but that was only because he was practically bored to death, he didn't have anything to do in bed. When it was time to return to class, he tried to avoid Casey and Rusty; in fear that they would sink into panic-mode. Since his Science class was first, he was naturally paired up with a partner, to his surprise his partner was Leslie.

"Ah, so you're a brain.." Cappie noted

"Not in the least. My mom and dad? They love seeing their precious girl major in something other than boys." Leslie said with a slight laugh

"I can understand that completely. I mean in a...vice versa case." Cappie said in a slightly awkward tone

Both Leslie and Cappie shared a laugh before they realized it was time to get serious, as Cappie quickly grabbed the flint-type burner to ignite a fire under the lamp. He suddenly dropped it when he felt a weird cramp in his hand, Leslie smiled and reached down to pick it up for him.

"Are you feeling okay?" Leslie asked as she handed the burner back to Cappie.

"Um...Yeah. I just got a morning ache that's all, it'll go away soon." Cappie assured, but in his heart he knew what it was

"You sure?" Leslie asked as she set up the rest of the equipment

"Positive." Cappie winced as he opened his textbook

Cappie excused himself during science class and went to the bathroom to get sick, when he returned class was halfway over. With the expections of his eyes drifting from here to there, science class was okay but then when he was removing his lab coat; an undescriable pain filled his body and he tried his best to ignore it. Cappie always knew his leukemia would kick in soon, but defintely not after a few days in the hospital; it was very scary for him but he knew he had to face it. During history, nothing seemed to happen expect for a simple spell of weakness and a slight cough. Just as Cappie was walking off to his next class, Rusty and Casey managed to find him.

"Hi Cap, how are you feeling?" Rusty asked

"Until you guys showed up? Just perfect." Cappie said with an so-ever slight moan

"No pains?" Casey asked

"Nope." Cappie replied

"Aren't you tired?" Rusty asked

"Not in the least." Cappie said with a shake of the head

"Stupid hospital probably made a misdiganosis. If you had leukemia something would've shown up by now." Casey stated as they began to enter the classroom, Cappie was turning the handle

"You're right." Cappie turned back to the two, not knowing that blood was spouring from his nose.

"Cappie!" Casey squeaked

Cappie finally realized the blood, he took a grip on the collar of his shirt and used it to wipe away the blood.

"Now you have it smeared." Casey took out a tissue from her pocket and wiped off Cappie's face

"Thanks." Cappie said softly

"You have been having other symptoms today, haven't you?" Rusty asked

"Only a few...Actually alot." Cappie said shyly

"This is exactly why you shouldn't have avoided us all day!" Casey argued

"I know I'm going to die, Casey! I don't need damn bodyguards to tell me this!"Cappie snapped

Cappie sighed and began to enter the classroom when he suddenly collapsed at the doorway


	6. Chemotherapy

Cappie was taken to the nurse's station, she examined a breathless Cappie; she could tell just by this examine by this young collage student was not in fair health.

"Thank you. You can put your shirt back on, Charles." The nurse declared

Cappie slipped his shirt back on, the nurse opened the door and allowed Rusty and Casey to come back inside. Casey rubbed Cappie's back and took his hand, Cappie didn't want to say anything.

"I have to know if Charles has suffered any illnesses lately." The nurse said simply as she took out a chart

"He's been diganosed with leukemia." Rusty said softly

"Has he had chemotherapy?" The nurse asked

"Like I really want needles going into my body 24/7?" Cappie asked in a snarky voice

"Do you have any idea which form of leukemia this is?" The nurse asked.

"Acute Lymphocytic" Rusty stated.

"What type of chemo can be done for that?" Casey asked.

"I wouldn't known but I do know that chemo would be in his best intrest." The nurse shrugged.

"Do I have a say in this?" Cappie asked.

With that, Cappie got up and left the office. Rusty and Casey quietly followed him, Cappie was clearly upset.

"We'll go see your specialist with you. Chemo isn't that bad." Casey declared.

"That's easy for you to say. Casey you aren't the one with leukmia, you aren't the one who has the knowledge that at ANY moment you can fall down and die!" Cappie argued.

"I am only trying to help you." Casey stated.

"Maybe I don't need help." Cappie remarked.

"You are just as stubborn as you were when we were going together." Casey remembered.

"Are you wanting to kiss me?" Cappie asked.

"Damn straight." Casey brought her lips to Cappie's.

"Okay...I think I missed something." Rusty seemed puzzled.

Cappie finally gave in and went to see a doctor called Joseph Shocker, Cappie was a little bit paranoid about his last name but chose to bluntly ignore it. Rusty and Casey went in for his first appointment, just to get an earful about what chemo would be like.

"The type of chemo that we always have first in mind with this form of leukemia is the injections of three medications called prednisone, vincristine sulfate or as you would say Oncovin. The prednisone would be given in doses almost like cough syrup or any other liquid medication. However, the vincristine would have to be given intravenously." Doctor Shocker explained.

"You mean through an IV?" Cappie asked.

"Precisely. How it would work is that we would start you on prednisone today and then four weeks or so from now we would start using the Oncovin." Doctor Shocker stated.

"Today?" Cappie repeated, a slight tremble in his voice.

"What are the side effects?" Casey asked.

"With the prednisone nothing really. Your muscles might be weak, might get a little cranky from time to time, may be eating a little more, throwing up a little more, sweating, short of breath. With the oncovin, your side effects may seem worse. You're likely to lose a bit of your hair, your blood count may be low, you may lose the weight that you gained while on the presdnisone, you might also develop mouth sores, vomitting, taste change, diaherrea, and possibly peripheral neuropathy." Doctor Shocker explained.

"What's that?" Cappie asked, trying to take in all the doctor had said.

"Numbness. Most likely to your hands and feet. You may not walk somedays." Doctor Shocker stated.

"It's really going to get that bad..." Cappie said to himself.

"I'll go right up a prescription for the predninsone." Doctor Shocker said as he left the office.

"Hanging over the toilet 24/7, losing my hair, paralysis...This is going to be fun." Cappie said sarcastically.

"Do you parents know?" Rusty asked.

"No, and I don't want them to. As if they would care." Cappie said quietly.


	7. The First Few Weeks

Cappie was able to swallow his first dose of prednisone, it didn't exactly taste as well as he had hoped. For the first couple of weeks Cappie was symptom free, there was nothing to worry about. However, the first night of his third week, the symptoms showed up. At first it was just muscle weakness, he would drop a book unexpectedlly or his leg would begin to give out. That was nothing. One day, Cappie found himself eating an awful lot only to find himself vomitting the same night. As Cappie leaned over the toilet, everyone in the Kappa Tau house could only watch as their leader and brother was vomitting every five seconds. After he was finished, Cappie stood to his feet and went to bed. Two nights later, Cappie began to suffer nightsweats, as expected. He began calling out for Rusty, who had moved into the house to care for him.

"I'm soaked." Cappie whispered.

Rusty sighed and sat Cappie up, he could see a rather large puddle of sweat where Cappie was laying. Rusty helped Cappie to a chair and then left the room, he went to Beaver's room.

"Beaver." Rusty called out, his voice in a whisper.

Beaver was a rather sound sleeper, Rusty grumbled and threw a pillow at his head. This woke Beaver instantly, Rusty gestured with his hand and Beaver followed him to Cappie's room.

"Why is he sweating like that? He looks like hell." Beaver stated.

"It's the chemo. Listen, he can't sleep in that bed tonight. I'm going to get him downstairs." Rusty explained.

"What do you need me for?" Beaver asked.

"Help me."

Beaver and Rusty got Cappie downstairs and onto the couch. The sweating was stopping, but you could still see small driplets on his brow. Beaver headed back up to bed, while Rusty kept vigil at Cappie's bedside. Only hoping that nothing terrible would happen the rest of the night. The next morning, Cappie and Rusty were walking around campus when Casey came up to them. Giving Cappie a long kiss, ignoring her younger brother.

"So, anything bad last night?" Casey asked.

Cappie and Rusty shrugged. "Nothing." They said.

"Okay, I get the vibe that one of you is lying." Casey crossed her arms.

"Well, I threw up last night. WAY too much to drink." Cappie fibbed.

"Rusty?" Casey looked to her brother, he nodded.

"Well...I'm happy to see that chemo is treating you well." Casey smiled.

Casey and Cappie cuffed hands and began walking together, Cappie all the while trying to ignore the growing tightness in his chest. The three had to stop because Cappie found himself unable to breathe, Casey draped her arm over his back and kept her hand in his.

"This is only the beginning." Casey remarked.

"The beginning?" Cappie wheezed.

"I'm going to get him something to drink." Rusty walked away.

"Am I better yet, Casey?"

Casey and Cappie locked eyes before Cappie continued to find his breath. After three more minutes of wheezing, the spell passed and Cappie was able to breathe.

"We better get you back." Casey suggested.

"Either die or live, Casey. I'd choose the latter." Cappie stated.


	8. Deny The Truth

Casey was in her fraternity house, reading a book in the parlor. It was actually her yearbook from her year as a freshman in high school, only her best friends knew that she and Cappie attended high school together during the freshman year, until Cappie was tranferred. Not many people would've guessed, but Cappie was actually quite geeky back in high school. Casey felt tears run down her face as she used her fingertips to gently brush against the photo of Cappie. Casey heard the front door open, she quickly wiped away her tears and stood to her feet, surprised to see Rusty.

"We've got a problem." Rusty said.

Rusty led Casey to the Kappa Tau house and up the stairs, they stopped at the bathroom door.

"Lovely tour, Rusty but...I've already seen the inside of there WAY too many times. So if-"

"It's Cappie. He locked himself in there, hasn't come out for awhile...couple of hours." Rusty whispered.

Casey sighed and knocked on the bathroom door, there was no answer.

"Listen, he just started his new medication a couple of days ago. Maybe he's having trouble adjusting." Casey said.

Rusty shrugged and Casey knocked again.

"Cappie, come on out." Casey said.

Cappie finally opened the door, wearing a hat backwards on his head. This caused Casey and Rusty to wonder what he had been doing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, who is ready for a picnic?" Cappie asked.

"A picnic?" Casey repeated.

"Why else would I be wearing my favorite cap?" Cappie asked.

"Why were you in the bathroom for so long?" Casey asked.

"Cowlick. Now, shall we go?"

Rusty and Cappie left the house, Casey didn't buy that excuse for a minute. She quietly entered the bathroom and began looking around for hints of what had been going on. There she saw it, in the sink was a huge clunk of hair. No doubt was in her mind, it was Cappie's hair. Casey bit her lower lip.

"Cappie..." Casey sighed.

Soon after the hair incidient, Cappie found it harder to cover up his hair loss as well as his ever-increasing, terribly weakening, chemotherapy symptoms. Most of his hair had fallen out as the months went by, he wore a bandana to cover it up. There were things that couldn't be covered. His vomitting, his terrible muscle weakeness, his dangerously low blood count. Between all of this, Cappie was finding it harder and harder each day to even get out of bed, when only two months ago he was practically the most vibrant student on the entire campus. At a frat party, Casey stuck with him to be sure he would be all right. As they sat on the couch, Ashely came carrying two cups of beer.

"Okay, I believe that the best couple on campus deserves to be completely thrased once and awhile. Considering the semester will end in the fall." Ashely handed the cups to Cappie and Casey.

As Cappie was about to toss back his beer, Casey swiped the cup out of his hand.

"Sorry, but you are going to stay completely sober. Thanks anyway." Casey said.

Ashely gave a little smile as she took Cappie's cup back, she walked away.

"It's only beer." Cappie said simply.

"You think YOU need beer when you can hardly stand in the first place. Nice try, but I'm not buying that shit anymore."

Cappie stood up and left the house, Casey chased after him. Before he got into his car, Casey grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What is your problem?" Casey asked.

"How old am I, Casey?" Cappie asked.

"You're twenty-"

"Exactly! I am a grown man, and I can take care of myself. Yet obviously, while you are around, I'm just a baby who has learned to walk. You can't put me in a bubble, Casey. You can't pretend that I'm gonna live."

Cappie hopped in his car and drove off, Casey ran back inside and grabbed Rusty.

"I think Cappie is gonna do something crazy. Even too crazy for him." Casey remarked.


End file.
